Customs A Tail of Two Fins (59 Impala)

had to help out a friend with some major rust issues on a 59 chevy conv
the new floor came in 3 pieces and did not have all the proper stampings
had to fab a stamping for the tank brace mounting as well as a new rear floor x-member

the new x member and the new floor missing the brace stamp


the pattern and the "stamping"


and piecing the floor together

 

the owner had the frame powder coated before we started on it
had to wrap it up in aluminum foil
the trunk weather strip area is gone

 

Ambitious! Do you have a donor vehicle for the missing trunk lip?

 

no
I am trying to post the pics of the new lip
I have a friend that does commercial metal work (custom kitchens and high end roofs)
he has access to a cnc sheetmetal brake and bent us new trunk lips
he made us some awesome new pieces that I was able to shape into a new lip
will post as soon as they load up

 

oh, and its a 348 car

 

a donor car was used for the fin tops and pieces of the fin bottoms
will post pics soon
both qtrs have been removed and wheel houses rebuilt as well as the conv. top rain gutter

 

you are crazy .....and have some real skills!!

 

thanks
just average ole school teacher
the funny part though is that none of the local shops would touch this thing
hopefully I can get him past this sheetmetal stuff so someone will mess with it for him
I got way too much stuff going on to tackle the paint on this one
and the car will be black

 

We know you arent just any ole teacher and that you teach this stuff. Someone should take him in after you guys get him a car made to work with. Thanks for sharing such an ambitious undertaking, Im lookin forward to seeing it come together.

 

I just teach high school collision repair
all this fab stuff came from being lucky enough to have been around some talented folks
hope to post more when I get the qtrs. done
having to finish some fenders on another project right now

 

Got back on this project. Dang these QTRs are huge. Just about have the rear body complete. A ton of welding and hammering.

 

Lots of shrink disc work
These QTRs have some funky shapes

 

fitting the skirts before welding the QTRs
shrinking and stretching to fit, the left side fit great, this side...not so much
luckily the QTRs are nor welded yet and I can move he metal around

pics with and without seal

 

Great work! I see these quarters by the rear bumper didn’t cooperate like intended.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

None of this car cooperated
But we hammered and dollied it into submission

 

Very nice work-talent shows-fella is lucky your doing it for him

 

Awesome project!!!Keep the updates coming!!

 

Remember 50 years ago...seeing a '59 Impala with say, body damage that entailed almost this amount of work?
Would you have thought the damage would be addressed...or total the car?
Naturally, the 'worth' of the car then was not as it is now. But just imagine shops that would have gone this far!
Kudos as usual, Anthony. As said: "Awesome!"

 

thanks
the bones of this car was good. Rockers, A posts, cowl were solid/ The doors and front sheet metal is 100% rust free.
the rear of this car was a mess
I hope I never have to do this again

 

Can you estimate how many hours have gone into it at this point?

 

I have no clue
I really don’t want to know either. Luckily I’m not the one body working and painting this one. I’m done when the last weld is finished.
It’s been a work on it when you can kinda thing.
I would guess there is around 75 hours in each QTR not including the top fins and drip rails Rebuilding the rotted /gas neck area of the rear body has at least 25 just in it

 

Roger that, I totally understand.

 

Im not a professional builder
just a for craps and giggles builder

 

Fine tuning the left QTR before the final fit before welding

Here is a tape outline of how much was replaced

 

Getting a little more done

 

About 10 years ago I sold one that went to the west coast that was so rotted in the back that we just cut it off at the trunk opening because it wouldn't fit on the guy's trailer with the other car on it otherwise.

The other car, a Caddy hearse, seemed fairly decent but the guys who got it said it more or less fell apart on the trailer, one of the springs broke even. So who knows what was left of this one.

 

One rebuilt tail light panel
One rebuilt tag and gas neck panel
Dang

 

I appreciate your talent. Thanks for posting this.

 

we are epoxy priming each part as we finish them and body working all visible seams on the inside
the tail light panel came from a donor car and still needed the tag area rebuilt and drip rails replaced.

hopefully it will hold up better for the next guy to restore it 50 years from now